On Wednesday, AS reported Raphinha’s chances of ending up at Barcelona in the summer depend on whether or not Ousmane Dembélé will continue at the club.
The Frenchman’s contract at the Camp Nou expires in June and is showing, ‘more than ever, a predisposition’ to stay beyond this season. If he were to sign a new deal with the Blaugrana, it would reduce the Leeds United player’s chances of moving to the Catalan club.
Claims made by AS are echoed by Sport on Thursday, who state the ex-Borussia Dortmund is the ‘key to everything’.
Dembélé is showing his best version since he joined the Spanish giants and is comfortable under Xavi Hernández’s orders. The coach ‘loves him’ and has always told him to continue at the club.
‘Raphinha awaits’ as it’s claimed the Brazil international is ‘attentive to Dembélé’s future’. Jesse Marsch’s man already has an agreement in place with Barcelona, and a transfer is at the ‘expense of negotiations between Leeds and Barca’.
The Premier League club would be asking around €50m for the former Rennes man, a figure that Xavi’s side are ‘not willing to assume’.
Sport state Barca ‘like Raphinha a lot’, but believe he cannot be compatible with Dembélé, if 
the latter were to commit his long-term future to his current employer. In addition to this, Barca fully trust Ansu Fati to regain his best version after recent struggles with injuries.
These factors make it difficult for the Leeds player to arrive at the Camp Nou.
If Dembélé leaves, Barca must convince Leeds to sanction Raphinha’s sale. That remains complicated because Sport state they are not willing to pay €50m for him in the summer, if the Whites stay in the top flight.
